August 15, 2007: Russian celebrity speaks up for the right of HIV-affected children to go to school
70 000 customers daily visit one of the 39 shops of The Moscow Bookshop, the largest chain of bookstores in Russia. Yesterday, the bookshop on Novy Arbat in central Moscow played host to the re-launch of the campaign "I care for every child, what about you?". In the children’s section, among brightly colored balloons and books of all shapes and sizes, a press conference was held, attended by UNICEF representative Carel de Rooy and the famous singer Oleg Gazmanov, who is a UNICEF good-will ambassador.
Gazmanov, himself a father, spoke to the media and others who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the star, on the key message of the campaign - that children with HIV cannot infect others while playing or studying together and that they have a right to go to school together with other children. As of today, campaign posters, booklets and cards promoting the campaign are freely available to customers of the bookshop. In October, 100 000 bookmarks will also be distributed. The Moscow Book Shop and UNICEF announced this as the first joint action in their partnership to provide information to parents and teachers about important issues related to children’s development, health, education and participation. Jakob Samuelsson and Tigran Yepoyan, UNICEF Russia
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